Moreno to sub for Figge

The veteran Brazilian, who has not raced in the series since 2003, will replace Alex Figge, who elected to miss the race after his back injury sustained at Long Beach flared up again in Friday practice.

Moreno, 48, who is ChampCar's official test driver and has completed more laps in the new-for-2007 Panoz DP01 than anybody else, is delighted to be back on-track.

“I am thrilled to get back in the DP01,” Moreno said. “It has been a pleasure to work with Pacific Coast Motorsports on the development side and this opportunity will enhance my role in the team in continued development.

Team boss Tyler Tadevic is equally happy to have Moreno in the seat, although he hopes Figge will return in time for the next round at Portland in Ohio.

“Of course we are very disappointed Alex is unable to drive this weekend, but we are confident Roberto is a great choice,” said Tadevic.

“He's already been a great asset to the team, working closely with Ryan and Alex and our engineers, so he was of course our first choice in our continued development as a new team, with the new car.”

Moreno has started 118 ChampCar races since his debut in 1985, but has only actually raced six full seasons in the category.

He has two race wins to his name, at Cleveland in 2000 and at Vancouver a year later, and has also started 41 Formula One races with a best finish of second in the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix for Benetton.